BY RODNEY TILLEY
When I was growing up as a child, my Dad had a couple of favorite sayings that he always kept for just the right time.
You know the kind I am talking about. He would give you the, “I told you so,” routine after you decided you would hitchhike to California only to return 10 days later like a whipped dog, hungry and humbled.
Or how about the, “Don’t listen to everything your brother says,” after you jumped off the garage roof with your brother coaching you to fly with his home-made cardboard wings. And my favorite one that I can still hear in the back of my mind, and you can hear it too, the, “How many times do I have to tell you?” You know, you’re in the garage fixing your bike, and your friends come by and in an instant you are gone with your buddies to play, and you leave your father’s tools scattered all over the garage.
I know you can still hear him yell, “How many times do I have to tell you not to get into my tools and….” Or the, “How many times do I have to tell you to study or you will be just like…..” and it goes on.
The “how many times” mantra was a well practiced scenario by the time I was a teenager and of course I passed it on to my children as well. In fact, I would like to pass it on to most people I meet especially to many congregants I meet in church. I know if I actually did I might be on the “my way or the highway”, but each week I tell them about the goodness of God and the forgiveness of sin, and the new life in Christ, and I say it over and over again, only to wonder if they will ever get it.
This week is Easter week and I would like to say what I say every Easter, Jesus is not dead, but he is alive and he can live in your heart. I will say, this is the day of his resurrection and new beginnings, and I will say it again and again.
I will say that Jesus died so that you might live. I will say again that Jesus is your friend and he wants to give you joy and peace. I will tell people that Jesus is risen, he is risen indeed, and I will come home wondering, “How many times do I have to tell you…….?”
But I will tell you one more time, “He is not here, He is risen.” (Luke 24:6). I will reiterate the truth the angel spoke when he said, “Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 28:5), and I will tell you how in the gospels we know that the stone has been rolled away, and death had no hold on Jesus, and today he is interceding for us in heaven. I will tell you that he is also coming back and if you are one of his own, Jesus is coming for you, and you, and you. “How many times do I have to tell you…….? Maybe just one more time?
If you want to hear it again, please call Pastor Tilley at 432-207-0015.
